Whether for use onstage or at home, the new RC-20XL allows musicians to create multi-layered performances in real time. Loops and riffs can be stacked repeatedly until the 16 minutes (!) of ample recording space is full. Never before has it been s...

This Instagram photo posted by Yannis in November 2013 shows one of the pedals he uses is the Boss RC-20XL Loop Station. The photo is captioned, "Keepin' the blues at bay." Armed with the loop station and the Alesis SR-16 Drum Machine (also pictured), as well as a green semi-hollow guitar, headphones, and a mic, it appears Yannis is doing some solo work, writing and recording riffs, or just jamming out by himself.

I can tell you that he sounded great at the 9:30 Club last night with a pedalboard full of Boss pedals and an Ibanez delay. All powered by a (wait for the collective gasp from the Gear Page folks) a One Spot.
Here's the list:
Boss TU-2 Tuner
Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive
Boss RC-20XL Loop Station
Boss FRV-1 Fender 63' Reverb Pedal
Ibanez AD9 Delay

Before he starts to praise the mighty Roland VG-99, he talks about usage of Boss RC-20XL loop station.
"I heard that you’ve used one of the BOSS loopers, the RC-20XL.
I have. I’ve got a looper in the studio. I’ve been recording for months."

In [this article](http://www.acousticmagazine.com/interviews/matt-corby/), Corby says, "My Martin is the workhorse, though. I have a D-18 and I think my Martin will be the only thing that I’ll tour with for the rest of my life. I love them, they’re really well balanced guitars and they sound how an acoustic guitar should sound, you know? They don’t need a lot of manipulation, when you’re playing live. They just do what they do and do it so well. I use Fishman pickups in most of my acoustics, but I just fitted an EQ system on my pedal board, too. I’ve got the Boss RC-20 lopper down there with it. I think it’s that one, I look at it everyday and still can’t manage to remember the name of it."

Although my live rig is fairly stripped down and conservative, I am a big fan of using any pedal whatsoever to help find a sound in the studio. I’ve previously used a Death By Audio Robot, Electroharmonix POG2, EHX Holy Grail Plus, and Boss RC-20 XL for various sounds.

Description

Whether for use onstage or at home, the new RC-20XL allows musicians to create multi-layered performances in real time. Loops and riffs can be stacked repeatedly until the 16 minutes (!) of ample recording space is full. Never before has it been so easy to create a massive “one-person band” sound in real time.

11
reviews

This box is a kick! I must confess, I have had it for a couple of years and I'm just now learning how to use it. It's not rocket science, but I'm a challenge for interfaces. In fact, I love the sound of Boss equipment, but generally hate their interfaces. This one is not so bad. Vids online help remove the mystery and guide you to the functionality. It's a great practice tool, plus it doesn't sleep on your couch, borrow money, or run off with your girlfriend.

I had this Pedal some years ago. Upgraded it to RC-30 a couple years ago. I loved the Reverse function, and the looping was more "natural" and intuitive than the RC30. But it only has 1 looping channel and just 11 banks, my main reason to upgrade to RC 30.

Reverse function is a neat feature. recordable banks are handi and tempo help gives loads of guides. It's a beast for practicing and definitey has it's place on live situations as well. Mic in is awesome for budget situations.

The pedal does what it needs to do, but it introduces a lot of noise into my signal that I can't remove. I keep this thing at the end of my chain, way after my dirt pedals and my noise suppressor loop, so if I want to use the looper, I just have to put up with a bunch of noise.

With the RC-30 replacing this model, you can get the older one for a significantly lower price. As long as you don't mind the fewer number of memory banks and inputs, the RC-20 will do anything you need a looper to do. Easy to record, overdub, and store loops. Really cool reverse function. I wish my ditto would auto-start recording like the RC-20. The RC-20 also has a mic line in, although its unbalanced, and you can use that as a secondary instrument in as well. An auxiliary input is there if you have need for it. I have yet to explore its depths. This is a hugely useful tool.

This pedal is an amazing performance tool. Good quantization / tempo matching and enough space for 11 loops, plus an aux-in with tone cut to make for a really useful performance or learning asset. The guide tone/metronome is great for practicing a part or when a drummer is unavailable. Now that it has been succeeded by the RC-30XL two-track, these are a steal and can be found online for less than $150 which is half the original sticker price!